"The First Movie" -- Must See!

Marc Cousins's new documentary "The First Movie" blew my mind and heart. Set in the midst of gorgeous photography, the brilliant, almost melodic, narration tells a seemingly cliche story - about war, poverty, children, imagination, the Middle East - in a completely original way. Cousins has managed to make this into a story about much more, about discovery, something that is sure to touch us all.

A 1926 Commercial From the Kingdom of YU

Although seemingly very theatrical, the message is the same as that of today's commercials.

Mixers, Blenders, Shakers. Festivals For All.

I have been recovering from the 5-day festival "Mikser" for the past 3 days and things not look promising. I feel tired, unproductive and, by the looks of it, I am going to need a couple of more days to get back to myself. This time, I think it was well worth it though.

I knew that the festival was going to be a peculiar one, judging by its location. As I approached the gray scary-looking humongous wheat mills in an abandoned industrial zone of Belgrade, I could not imagine what was coming. Labeled as a Design Festival, Mikser (meaning mixer, like the one used for cooking) is much more than that. It seemed to me that it threw various aspects of the youth's subculture and social life in a bowl and literally mixed it into something very delicious, of universal taste. The way the industrial site was utilized for all of this was inspirational. Each day's repertoire offered a perfect blend of education, creativity and partying. Every day, I would start of by exploring the expo and talent zones, the former one mixing design talent with industry and the latter one, set in the midst of the "scary" silos towers, reserved for independent artists and designers of all sorts. Then, I would listen to a lecture or visit the open air "kino" to see a documentary. Hopping from one "zone" to another, I would stop by the graffiti artists' stand, the tattoo stand, artisan workshops and - possibly the highlight of the festival - a hanging tunnel made up of packing tape that made you feel like you were in outer space when inside. The designers were all there and happy to talk about their art which was awesome, particularly for us non-artists. Filled with positive energy and ideas, I would watch the pink sun set behind the Danube and wait for the colorful selection of music performances to begin. Day after day, I got carried away and began taking this type of life for granted, as if it would not end.


Oof, fortunately, festival season is open in Serbia! Some of the festivals coming up or happening as we speak are Cinema City and Exit in Novi Sad, and Refract Festival, Belgrade Design Week, Japanism Festival, Nitrate Film Festival, Belgrade Summer Festival (BELEF), International Folk Festival, Beer Fest, the Boat Carnival, and many more in Belgrade.

I think I'll manage...

The Virtual Take Over

This is a short film by Patrick Jean, titled Pixels. It's about 8-bit icons from the 80's spreading across New York City. This is how I feel when I spend too much time on the computer. 

PIXELS by PATRICK JEAN.
Uploaded by onemoreprod. - Independent web videos.

Constantin Pilavios: What is That?

This is a short Greek film from 2007. A small reminder to love and appreciate the love we receive:

Random Documentary Picks

Way of Nature by Nina Hedenius (2008) - one year in the life of a Swedish farmer. Amazing photography and detail, no narrative.

Pretty Dyana by Boris Mitic (2003) - enters the "carton suburbs" of Belgrade populated by Roma, who have opened up a sector of economy for themselves. They are the ones who take care of recycling in Serbia, as there is no centralized system and have invented a new form of vehicle for this purpose, resembling an agricultural machine, by remodeling the old Citroën Dyane, the last of which was produced in 1983. You can watch the full video here.

Pianomania by Robert Cibis and Lilian Franck (2009) - follows the life of a German piano tuner, shedding light to the peculiar search for the right pitch of some of today's most renowned pianists. Definitely uncovered a new world to me.

The Unfilmable Banksy Film

The great stencil-stunt-artist Banksy has finally come out with a movie - not about himself of course, but about how another person failed to make a movie about him. "Exit Through the Gift Shop" is out in selected cinemas today!

Once again, Banksy is mocking the ugly side of us, our eternal wish to learn about the subjects we admire, more than they themselves are willing to uncover. Maybe, Banksy is trying to ask us to be satisfied with the messages that the artist willingly doles out to us through his/her art... Right around the film's premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Banksy left several new marks in Park City, Utah. Here is one that I think most directly relates to the film's message - Why do we have to film something, even at the price of its destruction, in order to enjoy it?


As Banksy proudly states for BBC - "It's the story of how one man set out to film the un-filmable. And failed".

Sidenotes:

• Exit Through the Gift Shop music credits by Geoff Barrow (from Portishead) and Roni Size;
  
• In case you have never heard of Banksy, check out the official website;
• StuffWhitePeopleLike has a hilarious entry about our love for Banksy and street art in general;
• Here are a "few" of my favorites:

Morphine (2008) by Alexei Balabanov

Morphine is a Russian film from 2008, based on Mikhail Bulgakov's prose. It must be one of the most gruesomely real movies I have ever seen - and it takes a lot for me to say something like this as I usually enjoy rather depressing movies and art.


It's 1917, the year of the Russian Revolution. The story follows the life of a young doctor, who shortly upon his arrival to a remote, small and understaffed hospital becomes addicted to morphine. What makes the plot so striking to me is the portrayal of hopelessness. Being the only doctor for several surrounding villages, the main character is confronted with a plethora of atrocities - death, people burnt in fires, difficult births, amputation and similar interventions - all of which the movie visualizes in detail. The message is very negative: it is the curer of an ill society who becomes ill himself, a morphine addict, in the face of overwhelming misery.

The movie is shaking, interesting and different. It is a good movie. Nonetheless, I kept wishing to leave the cinema while watching it. I was sad for the rest of the day and in an exceptionally bad mood the whole day after. What's good about that?

Bringing us back to the same old unanswered question... What is it that constitutes the quality of art in general?

Documentaries : A Wonderful Weird World.

With the sprawl of monotonous topics in mainstream movies, it has been increasingly difficult to find a film that both shakes and teaches you something. Apart from independent fiction films, I have always fancied documentaries as a pitchout from the microcosm of my simple life and petty worries. If you never considered yourself a documentary geek, here is a couple of films that should convert you:

• The Cove (Louie Psihoyos)
  
• Devil's Playground (Lucy Walker)
  
• Below Sea Level (Gianfranco Rosi)

Last night, at the European Feature Documentary Film Festival "The Magnificent 7" in Belgrade, I saw Below Sea Level, a story about the homeless in California, settled in a camp in the desert, 190 miles southeast of Los Angeles and 120 feet below sea level. With no particular narrative, this film follows the daily lives of several different people ranging from a (former marine) transvestite to a woman who lost her son because he took a bullet for her. It is shocking in many ways, without ever communicating the director's thoughts. I kept expecting the political or sociological message that usually follows plots of this sort but it never came. All of the audio, both dialogue and music, came directly from the characters. No narrative text to answer the many questions rushing through my mind. It was on me to decide. It was on me to react.

The result? Bothered by so many dilemmas, I have been completely distracted by these peculiar Californians. I have been telling their story and recommending the movie to my family, friends, coworkers... Thumbs up to the self-generating marketing move, Gianfranco Rosi!